I am quoted in a white paper from Ad Age on marketing to moms. Drawing on the “Core Competency Mom” series that I wrote for The Huffington Post, I talk about the genius of claiming that products that reduce housework time give you more time with your kids. This allows marketers to claim that paper plates make you a good mom!
More seriously, I think that setting these things up as opposition (time with kids vs. housework) is just as accurate a view of the universe as what we usually think of as being in opposition (time with kids vs. work). Looking at time diaries, moms do a lot to protect their time with their children (that is, childcare as a primary activity), even when they are working full time. They simply let other things (mostly housework) go.